Banff's Best Eats
One of the most exciting things about going on a vacation is trying new restaurants and different foods.
One of the worst things is wanting to try out a million different restaurants, but only having a short amount of time to do it in.
What’s worse than that? Finally choosing a restaurant, and ending up regretting it from either hating your meal, or receiving awful service.
After my recent four night trip to Banff and getting asked for recommendations, I thought I would start off by creating an article focusing on one of the most important things about a vacation.
Food.
This article gives a variety of different options of foods and restaurants, and is meant to help you not waste a second of your time by going to sub par places. There are so many great restaurants to check out, so let me do the trial and error work, so all you have to do is check out these restaurants and ENJOY YOUR VACATION!
Banff Ave Brewing
Great Patio, Appetizers and Drinks:
Let’s start with the restaurant that had one of my favourite cocktails and appetizers out of my whole trip.
Banff Ave Brewing.
Not only did Banff Ave Brewing implement creative and safe COVID protocols to make the environment as safe and clean as possible, this is also where I found one of my favourite cocktail in Banff: The Patio Peacher Pleaser.
The Patio Peacher Pleaser was sweet, but not over the top. Literally the perfect, most refreshing drink after a long day of travel. Where did we enjoy this drink? On their awesome, upper patio. Not only do you get a great view of downtown Banff on this patio, but you also get some mountain views as well (and who doesn’t like to spend every second they can on a patio with beautiful weather and views to enjoy?).
As for their COVID protocols, it started off at their front entrance where every guest starts off by sanitizing their hands and then checking in with a QR code. Checking in with the QR code inputs each guests information so Alberta Health can contact you immediatley if there is an outbreak. Each table is 6ft apart from other tables, with hand sanitizer provided at every table. Menus? No longer a tangible thing at Banff Ave Brewing. Instead, there are QR codes provided at every table that you scan with your phone to get access to the menu. This implements even less contact and helps the planet out by not creating one time use paper menus that gets thrown away after every use.
For food, my favourite food we got here was the Warm Buttered Soft Pretzels. The appetizer came with three large pretzels and two types of dip: black pilsner cheese fondue and beer mustard. I was obsessed with the cheese fondue dip.
Service at Banff Ave Brewing was great. We had Kate as our waitress, and not only did she make the great cocktail recommendation to us, she also helped us out with other recommendations for dining and activities to do on our trip.
From great service, to an awesome patio and delicious food and drinks I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t go to this restaurant. To ensure you get an opportunity to dine here, definitely make a reservation before you come, and ask for the upper patio if it’s a gorgeous day. You won’t regret it.
Rose and Crown Restaurant
Where you need to be every Wednesday night:
It’s Wednesday night, where do you go? The answer is, and will always be Rose and Crown.
If you haven’t heard of Rose and Crown before, that’s okay. But I am telling you about it now, and you can thank me later. Rose and Crown is where you want to spend every Wednesday night in Banff. If you aren’t travelling on a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights also make for a great option.
Not only is it half price bottles of wine on Wednesdays, Rose and Crown also has an unreal patio and live music. This is also the night where locals come party as well, so the atmosphere is a lot of fun. Banff is a hospitality based industry so even though weekends are a great time to party, Wednesday and Sunday nights also make for a great time.
We started our experience on the patio where we enjoyed a half price bottle of wine, and dinner. Many of you already know my obsession for red wine, but if you are a red wine enthusiast like me, I would totally recommend trying out the Malbec from BC. For dinner I ordered the fish and chips, and I would also recommend that. If you aren’t a fan of fish and chips, our patio server Scott, mentioned that their pizza is very popular as well.
After enjoying our dinner, and the great patio views, we moved downstairs where the live music was taking place. More drinks, awesome service and great entertainment made a perfect night. We had the pleasure of having Bridgette and Scott as our servers. Scott’s honesty and recommendations about the menu made our dining experience the best it could be, while Bridgette’s attentiveness and fun personality made us never want to leave. Rose and Crown also did a terrific job at implementing and abiding the current COVID procedures such as adding glass partitions onto their patio to ensure social distancing. I will say this again, Rose and Crown is not a place you want to miss out on.
Burgers and Shakes: When I lived in Banff five years ago, Eddie Burger was the place to go. Great shakes, and delicious burgers. I don’t know what changed, but after my recent visit here I wouldn’t recommend it. Not when you can get the same, or even better burgers at The Works. So if you are only in Banff for a limited amount of time, maybe try somewhere else.
Fairmont Banff Springs
Steak Lovers: If you love steak, and appreciate incredible service, 1888 Chophouse is where you NEED to go. This was the best meal, and one of the best experiences we had on our entire trip. 1888 Chophouse is located in the Fairmont Banff Springs which is in all honesty an experience in itself. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Fairmont Banff Springs, it’s literally a castle. The staff treats you like royalty, and the steak was some of the best I have ever had. I will warn you, 1888 Chophouse is super expensive. If you are on a budget for this trip but also want to check out the Fairmont, they have some other great restaurants that are a bit lower in price.
Waldhaus: A pub, and one of Banff’s nicest patios, is a great option. It’s a long walk from Fairmont’s front entrance (involving 90 stairs to get to the restaurant) but you won’t regret it. If you chose this option, my advice is not to dine on their patio past 7pm because the bugs will eat you alive.
Rundle Lounge is another great place to go which also gives you the option of dining on the patio or lounge. Most nights Rundle Lounge provides live music for guests to enjoy. To see the schedule of events you can check out Fairmont’s website to see if there will be anything going on while you are visiting.
Charcuterie and Incredible Views: We got a lot of recommendations to check out Mt.Norquay and the Cliffhouse Bistro. I never experienced this place before, so I was very excited to check it out. Parks Canada doesn't recommend or advise people to hike up Mt.Norquay due to the dangers of bears. To ensure you can still get to the top of the mountain and appreciate the insane views, and the restaurant, there is an option to take a chair lift up the top of mountain. Before we even got to Cliffhouse Bistro we received a ton of recommendations to try out the charcuterie board which included a lot of local meats and cheeses. No matter what you order, you’re dining at 7000 feet, so enjoy it considering this is definitely not an every day dining experience.
Fresh to Order Pizza: Bear Street Tavern is known for their delicious pizza and craft beer. Personally, beer is not my drink of choice, so I got their rose sangria (only $8 on Friday’s) and I loved it. One thing that made this restaurant unique is their chilli oil and honey dip that they serve with every pizza. I usually will always order a side of ranch or garlic dip for my pizza, but here you don’t have to.
Drunk Cravings: There is probably going to be a night where you’ve had one too many drinks and are stumbling back to your hotel. When this time comes, don’t miss out on Aardvarks. They are open late to satisfy your drunk cravings, and this is one of my favourite places to get poutine. Sober or not.
I hope this article can help you plan some of your dining experiences on your next trip to Banff. I’d love to hear what restaurants you’re most excited for, and your experiences after you visit. Also, if you are planning your trip to Banff this summer stay tuned for another Best of Banff article focusing on experiences and activities.
